Since then, that number has come down. Newport says current polls show 52 percent of those surveyed approve of unions.

When it comes to the issue of legalizing marijuana, Americans are evenly split. Newport says 50 percent believe it should not be legal, while 48 percent of Americans hold the opposite point of view.

In Washington State and Colorado, recent ballot questions on the issue of marijuana have pitted state law against federal law . But Newport says only 34 percent of Americans feel the federal government should interfere with state marijuana laws.

Frank Newport

Frank Newport, Ph.D., is Editor in Chief at Gallup. He is coauthor of Winning the White House 2008: The Gallup Poll, Public Opinion and the Presidency and author of Polling Matters: Why Leaders Must...